"I know he has looked frail for the past few months," said one woman. "It is a shock, it is not something that happens very often. He is a father figure, so naturally, for me personally, I was shocked and I could feel something in my heart, almost like there is already space there, a gap or something."

Others said they hoped the Pope's decision would have a positive effect on the church, paving the way for somebody younger to fill the role.

The last time there was a papal resignation was in 1415 when Pope Gregory XII stepped down to end the Western Schism, at a time when there were three claimants to the papacy.